Education and Inspections Bill

moved Amendment No. 81: After Clause 14, insert the following new clause- ““BAR ON ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW SCHOOLS OF A RELIGIOUS CHARACTER (1) No proposals may be published under this Part or any other enactment for the establishment of a foundation or voluntary school of a religious character. (2) Subsections (3) to (5) of section 69 of SSFA 1998 are repealed.”” The noble Baroness said: In moving Amendment No. 81, I shall speak to Amendment No. 205 in my name and in that of other noble Lords. During our consideration of the Bill, we have heard some truly inspiring speeches from all sides of the Committee and, indeed, from the Minister on what constitutes education. Members of the Committee have talked about reaching academic and sporting potential, about children with special needs, about learning social skills, about a positive ethos, about developing creativity, and about education being a force for social good. I do not consider any of these qualities necessarily to be brought about by faith schools. I have tabled the amendment because I know that there are concerns on all sides of your Lordships’ House about the potential expansion of the number of faith schools under the umbrella of foundation schools. I am a humanist and an associate of the National Secular Society, so it is obvious where I am coming from. However, other noble Lords do not share this stance and will have other things to say. I believe that those of us who are concerned share a similar view; an expansion of faith schools could divide communities when we should be trying to unite and integrate them. Reports on Bradford and Burnley from the noble Lords, Lord Ouseley and Lord Clarke of Hampstead, respectively, pointed out forcefully the need for young people to feel more integrated. Lord Ouseley’s report states: "““Some young people pleaded desperately for””—" more cultural and social interaction— "““to overcome the negativity they feel is blighting their young lives and leaving them ignorant of other cultures and lifestyles””." Where better than in schools to do that? The Muslim researcher and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has pleaded for schools to represent fairly the society in which we live without, "““breaking it up into minority groups aided and abetted by the state””." Ninety-six per cent of respondents to an online poll conducted by a Radio 4 Sunday programme in October 2005 thought that ““faith schools breed segregation””. Diverse faiths can be, and are, celebrated in schools and all benefit from learning about other cultures and from mixing with a variety of peers. What about the parents? My school governing body has parents of three different faiths, which is of enormous benefit to the school. Parents of different cultures organise, contribute to and mix at social events. They benefit, the children benefit and the school benefits. I understand the historical reasons for faith schools, which was admirably described by the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, in her speech on Second Reading. However, that was then and this is now, where we are. Why should we worry that foundation schools will increase the number of faith schools? Non-religious schools have been closing to reopen as faith schools. Eight—one in three—of the new academies are controlled by religious interests; three of them replaced non-religious schools. This expansion represents a huge public subsidy. I hope tonight for clarification on the right reverend Prelates’ Amendment No. 128, on the dispersal of land, and how that will work. It is very worrying that the expansion of religious schools may well decrease job opportunities for non-religious professionals. I would seek clarification from the Minister on the right reverend Prelates’ Amendment No. 129. What is taught in religious education may not be broad and balanced, and admissions may be carried out on the basis of religion. I am told that faith schools get good academic results. Any selective school gets good academic results. A study by the think tank Iris in 2005 showed that many faith schools take in pupils whose family circumstances are very different from the neighbourhoods in which they live. One school, with only 10 per cent of children receiving free school meals, was in a postcode area with more than 45 per cent on free school meals. One faith school had much vaunted GCSE results. In fact, this relied on small class sizes and only six pupils taking GCSE. I am told that faith schools increase parental choice. Choice is rarely possible in small communities. In larger ones choice is often at the expense of others. Faith schools choose their pupils and proliferation of such schools will decrease choice for other parents unless they are prepared to join, or pretend to join, a religion. I mentioned ethos. I simply do not believe that faith is a prerequisite of positive ethos. Ethos depends on a variety of things: pupil intake, parental support, good teaching, a good pastoral system, links with the community and parents, and so on. I go back to my main concern about faith schools—that they separate children out at an early age, when children should be learning to live together for the sake of a harmonious society. I believe that we take great risks when we segregate children and deny them a broad education. I move on briefly to Amendment No. 205, which is longer than my remarks will be. This is about assemblies and collective worship. Inclusive assemblies can quite clearly have educational value, not least in building a collective ethos by bringing a school community together. They can contribute greatly to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Many schools provide such assemblies, but the current law, which requires ““collective worship””, is against them in this regard. The Ofsted review of secondary schools in England published in 1998 noted the widespread non-compliance with the requirements for collective worship and remarked that it ““raises questions about the”” 1988 "““Act and its interpretation, and in particular whether schools in a broadly secular society can or should bring their pupils together in order to engage in worship””." What will the amendment accomplish? It would replace the requirement to conduct ““collective worship”” with a requirement to hold assemblies that would further pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Teachers, including non-religious teachers, can and do use assemblies to demonstrate that moral values and responses to ultimate questions of existence can be inclusively framed. I have done it myself when a teacher. A reform of the law would encourage such good practice. Sometimes people will insist that all matters spiritual must be religious, but this is not the official position. Ofsted’s Handbook for the Inspection of Schools states: "““Spiritual development relates to that aspect of inner life through which pupils acquire insights””" into what is ““of enduring worth”” and which is characterised by the qualities that I spoke of earlier. If the law on worship in assemblies is changed, new guidance issued under the new law would contribute to better sharing of good practice in the provision of inclusive and educational assemblies, and would represent a new entitlement for pupils that could command wide consensus, quite unlike the current requirement to provide collective worship. I beg to move.